Eternal Cultivation Of Alchemy

The Red Heaven Realm was a wasteland with next to nothing growing within it. As Ronron had told them, it was a desert landscape through and through.

People flew around in all directions to get to someplace safe and refine their stars. So, Alex took his family somewhere else too. He brought out his ship and boarded it.

Everyone followed suit, and soon they flew away, getting to someplace in the distance where they couldn’t be messed with. The other four immediately sat down and began refining the metal star in their hands.

Alex kept watch for some time, watching the lifeless land pass him by into a world of yellow sand, which too soon went by to become a rocky landscape. Mountains stretched on the horizon before him, holding no life upon them.

”Just how large is this place?” he couldn’t help but ask, staring at the glowing wall far, far away in the distance. ”It has to be at least a couple hundred kilometers wide, right?”

”I believe it’s more than that. The realm itself has to be about 800 kilometers wide, with a red dome barrier, but the space within it is expanded as per the requirements of that year’s event,” Ronron explained. ”Judging by the expansion of space, I believe this is closer to 4000 kilometers now?”

Alex felt the stretched space within the land and slowly nodded. ”That’s about right.”

After flying for some distance, he landed the ship alongside a massive ridge, overlooking what appeared to have once been the bed of a lake. It looked parched now, having likely not seen anything but the sun for thousands and thousands of years.

People flew past them, going somewhere with no one else, but they didn’t have to. Interfering with anyone wasn’t allowed at all, so there was no point in running away.

Still, one’s instincts were hard to go against, so people felt safer with no one around.

Alex refined the star alongside his family, taking almost no time in doing so at all.

Helen was the first to completely refine it, followed by Ronron. They had both completed it before Alex even had the chance to start. Liz also finished halfway through Alex’s own refinement as well. Then, Alex completed his refinement in under 10 minutes.

Battlesage took a bit longer, but not by much. He was the last one to finish refining it completely.

The last rays of daylight still shone across the clouds in the sky when they were all finished.

”What are your thoughts on this time’s secret realm?” Liz asked. ”It sounds quite different from the last one.”

Ronron nodded. ”It feels like they understood from the last one that the only people who succeeded back then were people who had a high cultivation base. This time, even the weaker people have some chance at staying here for a longer period of time.”

”It does feel that way,” Helen said. ”If someone comes to challenge me, I’m going to only accept challenges in regards to alchemy or talismans.”

”That’s a losing mindset right from the get-go, young lady,” Battlesage said. ”You have an incredible opportunity to test yourself in an environment where you have no downside, and all you want to do is keep doing something you’re already good at?”

Helen shrank a little. ”But I don’t want to fight.”

”Well, why did you come here then?” Battlesage asked. ”Is it not to experience something new? If it is only to win some rewards, then I don’t think you’re going to make it far with your cultivation base and your lack of variety.”

”Fine!” Helen said in an annoyed voice. ”I’ll fight them.”

Ronron laughed slightly.

The cold breeze of the north passed by them in the night, with many people flying around in all directions. No one stopped by where they were or bothered to come anywhere close. Then, the early light of the morning shone on the horizon to the east.

”Very soon now,” Ronron said as they all waited with bated breaths.

Alex took his star, watching it closely. For now, while he had refined it, it didn’t do anything at all. But soon, if what they had been told was correct, then it would activate.

People from all around began flying into the sky, already preparing to head in any direction their stars would point them to. All around the secret realm, everyone’s eyes were to the east.

And then, the first light peeked through the horizon, scattering across the desert landscape. At the same time, the star in their hand came to life.

Alex looked down at his star, which struggled to get away from his grasp. He loosened his grip around it, and the thing suddenly spun around, all six points glowing at the same time, each with different colors.

The point to the bottom left was a pale green, and the one at the top was dark red. The other points were a variety of hues in between green and red, with one section looking slightly yellow.

Alex frowned, looking back at his family, who all held their stars with a similarly confused expression as him. Looking at their stars, it became obvious that their stars represented the same colors as his, in exactly the same direction as well.

”Where do we go?” Liz asked. ”Red or green?”

”Red looks more intense,” Helen said. ”It’s probably more dangerous.”

”That means more rewards,” Alex said.

Helen couldn’t help but sigh. ”Okay. Let’s go and see what it is. You all won’t let me be if I don’t do this.”

There was no reason to waste any more time. Whatever the colors meant, they would soon find out once they reached the location.

Immediately, they flew in the direction where the red was the most saturated. Alex’s spiritual sense reached all locations before he did, and while he saw a group of people already gathered in various locations, he could see nothing around those locations that made them special.

He couldn’t help but be curious as to just where they were headed to.